Solar Electricity Boom Bypassing Wisconsin

by | Dec 11, 2013 | Uncategorized

RENEW Policy Summit Aims to Plug Badger State into Surging Market Sector

In a release issued earlier this week, the U.S. solar electric industry reported its second largest quarter ever, adding 930 megawatts (MW) of generating capacity between July and October 2013. Of that total, only an estimated 260 kilowatts, or a mere .02%, were installed in Wisconsin.

Graphic:  Comparing trends for new solar electric
system installations in Wisconsin versus the U.S. as a whole, Wisconsin kept
pace through 2010 but has fallen sharply off pace since.

Nationally, solar’s surge continued through October. Of the 699 MW of electric generation added that month, solar accounted for 504 MW, or 72%, of the total. All told, more than 99% of the generation capacity added in October is fueled by renewable energy resources.

Taking note of declining system prices, the Solar Energies Industry Association (SEIA) projects that a total of 4,300 MW of new solar generating capacity will come online in 2013, an increase of 27% over the previous year. RENEW Wisconsin estimates that Wisconsin’s contribution to that total will be less than 2 MW, continuing a downward trend that began in 2012 (see graph on page 2).

The question of how to reinvigorate Wisconsin’s coal-heavy electricity sector with renewable power such as solar will take center stage at RENEW’s third annual energy policy summit, set for January 10, 2014, at UW-Madison’s Pyle Center. The theme of the summit is “We Mean Business.”

“Renewable energy is driving economic development throughout the Midwest and the nation. States like Minnesota and Georgia have warmed up to solar energy’s tremendous potential, and our Midwest neighbors are investing heavily in windpower too,” said RENEW Wisconsin’s Executive Director Tyler Huebner. “We hope to apply the lessons they’ve learned through their policy initiatives to Wisconsin’s renewable energy sectors, which once set a shining example to neighboring states but are now languishing in an inhospitable policy environment.”

“Solar energy is taking flight in most parts of the country,” Huebner said. “A 10 MW installation was just commissioned at Indianapolis International Airport, the largest of its kind serving a commercial U.S. airport. Last week, New York City committed to host the largest solar facility within city limits on what was once the largest landfill in the world. And Farmers Electric Cooperative, in neighboring Iowa, just announced plans to build the Hawkeye State’s largest solar generating plant for its owner-members.

“The key difference between the leaders and the laggards is state energy policy,” Huebner said. “Expansive policies like net metering, Clean Energy Choice, and streamlined interconnection can unlock market barriers and unleash the entrepreneurs who will deliver the clean energy that customers all across Wisconsin desire. Our summit will show policymakers and the public that we mean it when we say that clean energy is good for business.”

Visit the RENEW Policy Summit website for more information and to register for the January 10th event. Early registration discount ends December 20th.

View this entire press release, including supplemental reference material.

Dane County Land and Water Resources Department Releases Memo on Waunakee Digester Spill

by | Dec 9, 2013 | Uncategorized

On December 6, the Dane County Land and Water Resources Department released a memo discussing the impact of a recent manure spill at a large biodigester plant in Waunakee, WI:

“As you know, the manure digester owned, operated, and managed by Clear Horizons, Inc. had a pipe failure last week which released 300,000 gallons of manure. I write to share our understanding of the extent and impact of the spill, the remediation effort, and how we are moving forward”.

“We are cautiously optimistic that this manure spill will have little to no impact on water quality in Lake Mendota as preliminary data shows that only 30 pounds of phosphorus will reach the lake.”

Read the Memo in its entirety 

Another Week, Another Lost Opportunity

Another Week, Another Lost Opportunity

by | Nov 26, 2013 | Uncategorized

Public Service Commission Denies RENEW’s Request to Streamline Interconnection Rules

Another week, another lost opportunity for Wisconsin to move forward on energy self-sufficiency, job creation, and conserving natural resources.

Back in February 2013, RENEW Wisconsin, along with 89 supporters, submitted a petition to the Public Service Commission to revisit highly technical “interconnection rules,” also known as PSC 119.

RENEW and its supporters wanted to streamline these processes, add consistency across utility territories, and reduce costs.  RENEW’s work was part of a collaborative effort under a Department of Energy “SunShot” grant.

On November 15, Wisconsin’s Public Service Commission issued a written order denying RENEW Wisconsin’s petition to improve these rules.  This occurred even though Wisconsin recently received a “D” in a nonpartisan report titled “Freeing the Grid” comparing the interconnection practices in all 50 states. To put that grade in perspective, every state immediately bordering Wisconsin received a “B” or a “C.”

One potential biodigester project was told that the cost of
upgrading the local grid to accommodate the project would
run nearly $750,000.  This exorbitant price quote effectively
killed the project.

Here are some examples of why these rules are so important:

  • One potential biodigester project was told that the cost of interconnection would be nearly $750,000. This exorbitant price quote effectively killed the project.  
  • In addition, many utilities nationally are removing the need to include an external disconnect switch for residential and small-scale renewable energy systems, such as a solar installation on a typical home. This would save project costs and help customers make the decision to purchase these types of systems.
Wisconsin currently scores
a “D” on our state’s interconnection 
rules, according to the “Freeing the Grid”
report. The 
improvements we suggested would have helped us improve our 
report card!

Wisconsin’s interconnection rules were last updated in 2004.  Since then, the federal government issued a “best practices” document in 2006, and a national organization called the Interstate Renewable Energy Council has also recently issued best practices and model interconnection procedures for states to adopt.

In short: the timing was right, the resources were available, and a broad cross-section of supporters were lined up in support of the effort.

Unfortunately, this is another lost opportunity to move Wisconsin forward. 

Read the PSC’s order and Commissioner Eric Callisto’s dissent (starting on page 5) here.

Additional background
information: Interconnection rules governs how
small solar, wind, and biodigester renewable energy systems are connected to
the grid to ensure safety and reliability of the entire grid and utility
employees working on electrical lines. These rules also offer assurance to
potential customer-generators that their systems will be reviewed under a
standardized framework which sets forth reasonable timelines for application
review and decision-making. RENEW’s
Summer Policy Intern, Rikaela Greane, prepared a more comprehensive article on the background of interconnection for our
July Member newsletter.

RENEW testifies against SB 167

RENEW testifies against SB 167

by | Nov 20, 2013 | Uncategorized

Senate bill would make it easier to sue over alleged negative impacts of wind turbines

 RENEW Policy Director, Michael Vickerman presented testimony today against SB 167, a bill which would allow persons living within 1.5 miles of a wind turbine to sue for damages to health and property values, purportedly due to the proximity of the turbine. Vickerman argued that such a bill would effectively end wind development in Wisconsin:

“No other state has adopted, or is considering the adoption of, a
policy that puts wind generators and host landowners at risk of being sued for
alleged damages. No other state has established, or is considering the
establishment of, such extreme setbacks in order to eradicate a legitimate
business activity that supports thousands of jobs in the United States,
including many here. This begs the question, how much business activity would
actually occur in Wisconsin if the Legislature granted state residents the
right, on the basis of an alleged hardship, to sue the owners of coal-fired
power plants, high-voltage transmission lines, metallic mines, non-metallic
mines, landfills, waste transfer stations, airports, railroads, truck stops,
metal fabrication plants, paper mills, food processing facilities, and confined
livestock operations so long as the offending facility is located within 1.5
miles of the complainant?”

Read Michael Vickerman’s entire testimony

See the 11/19/2013  Capital Times article on SB 167

 

RENEW Wisconsin Blasts PSC Over Solar Vote Flip-Flop

by | Nov 18, 2013 | Uncategorized

Chair Reverses Himself One Week After Pro-Solar Vote

Michael Vickerman, RENEW Wisconsin Policy Director

At its open
meeting on November 14, 2013, Public Service Commission (PSC) Chair Phil
Montgomery reversed his own vote taken a week earlier that would have
strengthened Wisconsin Public Service (WPS) Corporation’s net metering service
starting January 2014.  
A week
earlier, Montgomery stated his preference for ordering WPS to loosen a key
restriction applicable to new solar systems. He was joined by Commissioner Eric
Callisto in that discussion. But at the later meeting, Montgomery reversed
himself, and sided with Commissioner Ellen Nowak.  
As a result of
Montgomery’s about-face, WPS will continue to offer the most restrictive net
metering service in the state, which will depress Wisconsin’s already struggling
solar market even further.
In testimony
presented in WPS’s 2014 rate case, RENEW Wisconsin, a clean energy advocacy
organization, argued that the utility’s net metering service puts prospective
solar generators at a disadvantage relative to other utility customers. RENEW’s
testimony included figures revealing a steep drop-off in the number of solar
electric systems built in WPS territory beginning in 2012.
The
generally accepted practice among utilities is to calculate the net between
production and consumption over a 12-month period.  Alone among Wisconsin utilities, WPS
calculates the net each month, a practice that lengthens system payback.
“Though a
complicated and highly technical policy, net metering is the principal driver
for customer installations of solar.  Net
metering for solar is like rollover minutes for your cellphone, and details
like calculating the rollover annually versus monthly really matter,” said Tyler
Huebner, Executive Director of RENEW Wisconsin. “It’s clearly in Wisconsin’s
interest to establish a policy environment for solar energy that is
predictable, easy to understand, and uniformly applied from one utility to the
next,” Huebner said.
At the initial
open meeting on November 6, Commissioner Montgomery expressed support for those
principles. As captured in the Wisconsin Utility Regulation Report, “Montgomery said his preference was to direct
the applicant to adopt an annual netting structure for this tariff consistent
with what the commission decided in [We Energies]’s last rate case  . . . .”
Statement of Tyler Huebner:
“The facts
in this case did not change between the Commission’s voice votes on November 6
and 14, and the need for a stronger and more uniform net metering policy did
not diminish. But this breathtaking decision erases the PSC’s one positive
decision on WPS’s treatment of solar energy, and the result will be yet another
step backward.” 
“For those solar
installers in central and northeast Wisconsin who initially cheered the PSC’s
decision, Montgomery’s flip-flop comes as a bitter pill to swallow. Indeed, the
welcome mat that once greeted start-up solar businesses here has all but
disappeared.”
“Let’s take a step back
and look at the broader picture on electricity generated from the sun.  Nationally solar adoption increased a
whopping 76% from 2011 to 2012, yet in
Wisconsin the number of systems connected to the grid declined by 40%.  Approximately 14,000 jobs were created
nationally in the industry in 2012, a 13.2% annual employment jump, taking the
national total to 119,000 jobs.  Next,
92% of American voters agree that it is important for the U.S. to develop more
solar, and 84% of Wisconsin voters support a three-fold increase in the amount
of electricity the state gets from renewable sources like solar. Finally, based on research from
the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, solar energy creates twice as many jobs
for every dollar invested as coal, and more than twice that of natural gas.”
“Solar is a
growing industry, an industry that creates more jobs per dollar invested than
its competitors, and the people want it badly. 
Yet, in a state that claims it’s open for business, a state where we
want and need to create jobs, our public officials are impeding progress. What
a huge lost opportunity for the state. We have to go no further than Iowa to
hear a completely different tune, where Republican governor Terry Branstad said
just two weeks ago, ‘As a leader in wind energy and renewable fuels, Iowa
should be at the front of the pack in implementing programs that encourage the
use of solar energy as well.’”
“This is the
third decision that has severely hampered clean energy and Wisconsin job
creation in as many months. In September, the PSC voted to suspend Focus on
Energy renewable energy incentives through the end of the year, ensuring that
millions of dollars earmarked for this purpose will go unspent this year. Then in
October, the PSC rejected our petition to initiate a new proceeding for
improving the state’s interconnection rules.  These rules determine how easy or difficult,
and how expensive or cost-effective, it is for a potential owner of a renewable
energy system to connect into the electric grid.  Wisconsin’s rules haven’t been updated since
2004, even though  technology has changed
a lot since then.  For example, that was
four years before the first iPhone even came out. The PSC fumbled an
opportunity to step in and streamline these administrative procedures.”
“These three
recent decisions are job-killing decisions. 
If you don’t think Wisconsin is falling behind on the policies that make
solar energy flourish, take a look at how Wisconsin fares against its
neighboring states.   “For any public
official that wants to create jobs in Wisconsin, give us a call, we can help
you.”
Ranking Midwestern States on Solar Policies and Practices
How Does Wisconsin
stack up against neighboring states?
State
Net metering grade
Interconnection
grade
Illinois
B
B
Iowa
B
B
Michigan
B
C
Minnesota
B
C
Wisconsin
C
D
Source: Freeing
the Grid 2013: Best Practices in State Net Metering Policies and
Interconnection Procedures, Interstate Renewable Energy Council, 2013.  Net metering policy for renewable energy
systems is like rollover minutes for your cellphone:  it ensures that owners of renewable energy
systems get full credit for the power they generate.  Interconnection rules determine how easy or
difficult, and how expensive or cost-effective, a state’s rules are regarding
connecting distributed energy generators (such as solar, wind, and biodigester
systems) to the grid.  Wisconsin’s
interconnection rules haven’t been updated since 2004.

SOLAR: Construction begins on what will become the second-largest solar electric generation project in Wisconsin.

by | Nov 14, 2013 | Uncategorized

From the November 12th article by Tom Content
“Construction is beginning in Jefferson on a utility-scale solar project that will be one of the largest in Wisconsin.”
“Chicago-based Half Moon Ventures hired S&C Electric Co. for engineering and construction of the project, which will generate 1 megawatt of electricity, or enough to power 150 homes.“
Read the full article

Also see Half Moos Solar’s press release announcing the project.